WASHINGTON: United States President Joe Biden announced that "a major disaster exists" in Kentucky amid the deadly flooding triggered by torrential rain in US, according to the White House.

Later on Friday, the White House was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying that Biden has ordered federal assistance to support Kentucky and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe rains, flooding, landslides, and mudslides.

"Damage assessments are ongoing in other places, and more counties and forms of aid may be identified after the assessments are entirely finished," it added. Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, responded on Twitter by saying that the government aid "is important for our recovery efforts and Kentuckians impacted by the record flooding." He   also said that "the water issue in Eastern Kentucky is ongoing" and that "at least 16 people have died."

The Governor further said that there were still a number of individuals missing and that he anticipated the number to more than double. "It's going to include some youngsters," he said.

Parts of West Virginia and Virginia have also experienced flooding in addition to Kentucky.
More than 33,000 customers were still without electricity on Friday in eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, according to Poweroutage.us, with the majority of the outages occurring in Kentucky.

Beshear has proclaimed a state of emergency over the whole state of Kentucky and activated the National Guard to help in the most severely affected areas. For people who lost their homes, Kentucky has also opened three state parks.

Jim Justice, the governor of West Virginia, declared an emergency in six counties. Parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia may experience severe rain and floods throughout the weekend, the National Weather Service warned.

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